Willie Manning - Allow DNA Testing

I am writing regarding the case of Willie Manning, to express my total disbelief that the State has prevented him from providing crucial DNA evidence. This is not an issue of whether perpetrators of crimes should be executed, this is an issue of whether an innocent man has been wrongly convicted.

There is an overwhelming lack of physical evidence linking Willie Manning to the murder and there are many questions to be answered regarding the reliability of key witnesses. In the recent rulings for DNA testing, judges have chosen only to use the prosecution records, without considering the defense arguments; this is not a balanced decision and one that would have blocked previous cases of exonerations.

I cannot understand why this simple requested, backed by The Innocence Project will not be granted. Surely, the victim?s families have a right to know for sure that the man executed was indeed the perpetrator? I want to believe that that all avenues will be explored and that the State takes seriously their responsibility to their citizens. Many eyes are focused on this case; across the globe there is a growing disbelief that something so fundamental is being denied against a backdrop of a case that now appears to be built on, at best, shaky foundations. Closer to home I feel people are starting to wonder what Mississippi State has to be afraid of by denying this evidence.

It is time to do the right thing. We cannot change the past ? but we can change the future. I believe Willie Manning is innocent and I believe you, Mississippi State, will do the right thing: allow the DNA testing.

Regards,

Suzanne Budd, Cambridge, UK

Suzanne BuddCambridgeUser submission

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Willie Manning - Allow DNA Testing

Dear Editor,I am writing regarding the case of Willie Manning, to express my total disbelief that the State has prevented him from providing crucial DNA evidence. This is not an issue of whether